Pages

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

I recently decided to get some help with refurbishing my old posts and had a really great conversation as a result. My helper who is a statistician actually brought it to my attention that most times you my lovely readers agree with my posts rather than disagree. There is currently only one post where the disagree button was used more than the agree button. Out of 150 posts that I have done, can you guess which one attracted most disagreement...............dum dum dum...........Hair Growth Myths.

The conversation (interesting bits only)

Me : People are not supposed to agree with me all the time
Helper (very posh** accent): Well, statistically they do
Me (bored of science talk): Why do you find that so interesting?
Helper: Perhaps it is because overwhelmingly the agree button is used over the disagree which makes this particular post interesting.
Me: Ok what is the post about?
Helper (clicks away): Ummm........hair growth myths
Me: Ah well, I could have told you that, I think if I had researched and found out something that actually does make hair grow faster, I think the response would be quite different.
Helper: That is a strange answer.
Me (laugh): Why is it strange?
Helper: Women are strange, give them an answer they don't like for free and they will not have it. Give them something in a bottle tag it with an unrealistic promise and they will spend limitlessly.
Me(pause for thought): Hmm

My thoughts

1. Why the hair growths myth post? Is it hard to believe that hair grows at pretty much a steady pace and diet, hair products etc would not affect this?
2. Do women place more value on a result over and above the facts (damage, breakage, bogus, hole in your pocket?
3. How much is the most you have spent on a hair product or procedure, would you do it again? What is a normal price to pay for a product?

Feel free to contribute your thoughts on any part of this post and definitely expect to see more polls and posts exploring this issue.

**In case you try to renact the conversation - A posh accent has a clipped sound like the Queen or Prince William. Victoria Beckham (otherwise known as posh) actually has what would be called a 'common' accent.

i don't know if this is limited to women, but in my general view of things people are very unlikely to get rid of ideas they have previously accepted. i personally do not know the facts behind accepting that hair products affect hair growth, perhaps it could just be that those adverts really work. and maybe those of us who hardly watch TV and are thus not subjected to so many adverts are more open to viewing and accepting a different picture. yeah, i am not too sure about that either...

in my general experience, women place value on the facts AND results. so while we may argue about facts, showing results reinforces them (the facts).

i prefer using 'natural' organic products which means i usually pay more. however i'm still suffering from a flaky scalp so i've basically stopped caring. i've also stopped caring about growth. all that concerns me w/r/t growth is just showing my family that natural African hair does grow. and i've always been the person who considers spending money on books over any and everything else.

i really don't know Jc, it's just that in my experience the produdtcs labelled organic are more expensive than everyday head&shoulders or herbal essences. and i guess i was willing to pay more because i thought organice meant it'd be better for my hair. (i just realised there are two ways to read your question)

I think this has a lot to do with education. Specially science education. I don't mind people disagreeing but a lot of them do not give any scientific reason for it or do not nuance the non scientific reasons. The fact that someone said it on a blog no matter who it is, seems to be enough to believe it so bad they will disagree with everybody else. It has a lot to do with education. Yes school. I actually had a situation like this with a future lawyer. If she never followed a science class ( no need to be an expert) i understand why she could not argue properly. Most of black women problem has to do with length retention witch we confuse with hair growth so most of the hair myths have to do with that.

Well, I think some of us are just not willing to accept that hair does indeed grows horribly slowly and that it takes years to grow it from shoulder length to waist length and they just don't want to hear that there's absolutely no way to accelerate this process. They are just desperate. lol

Since you always say that it is unnecessary to buy overpriced salon products I'm not willing anymore to pay more than 8-10 Euro for a hair care product.

Meh. It's hard to acknowledge facts and realities sometimes. Denial is easier than acceptance. You know, it's NICE to believe that some product on the shelf is going to make your hair grow.

That said, I've never bought any of those things since I was younger and had relaxed hair. When something reads "grow"...or more likely if it's a black product "gro" ::eye roll::, I know it's a marketing ploy, and I pass it by (not that some of these products don't have good ingredients). I just can't buy into a company that exploits black women's insecurities so selfishly.

I agree with exccentricyoruba, people get set in their ways and don't like to be told they're wrong. And everyone much prefers to have good news rather than bad.

I read all the ingredients these days, I like to know what I'm putting on my hair and if I don't like the ingredients I don't buy it. I can still get nice enough products off the shelf. It seems that the organic end of the market is more expensive and I personally don't see the coosmetic benefit of it. I suppose it depends on where your principles lie.

And as for the most money I've spent, £140 on botox for my frown lines. For four months of frown-free forehead thats not too bad! Although my boyfriend did point out that it would be a lot cheaper just not to frown. If you add it up I propbably spend at least double this on my hair without a batting an eyelid.

With regards to hair myths, and scientific facts, I don't doubt the science, and probably never will.

And yet, the variations in what will effect hair growth do happen. I have had a year where my hair grows like crazy. And then there is a year I wait patiently for it to grow more than one inch.

I am aware of terminal length, periods when hair doesn't grow (resting, breakage), and the effect of hormones. However, when I've changed my diet, lowered my stress, exercised, consumed more water, and babied my hair, it has grown faster and longer.

I was a bald kid, teenager and a medium length haired younger adult. Today, I have relatives who ask, in amazement, if my hair is real.

Whenever I am asked how I did it, I try to provide a reasonable and honest answer. But to tell the truth, I am not really 100% certain how it happened. I can only look at what I did and how the hair responded as a result.

I do believe i've spent nearly 400 or 600 plus in having $100 procedures of chemical peels coupled with microdermabrasion done in a week. I really was not the type to spend much for my skin but since I had just come back from the desert and my whole face was filled with either cystic acne or giant boils all over it I went since my mother seemed horrified over my appearance lol. My face did retain its natural shape and my skin recovered much quicker with a smoother transition. Hair care I have spent maybe the most on a 50 dollar leave in product, I thought it would help make your "hint", afro hair grow long ^_~ but in the end it didn't do much for moisture for me or my daughter's hair. ] I take the approach that strong hair will result in retained hair thus longer hair. Do I want the booty knocking hair length anymore, no. My goal now really is just to have hair that has no breakage and grow naturally not be at Rapuzel length overnight or break off with a mere touch. :-)

I think it has little to do with the topic and more to do with the idea of agreeing or disagreeing. I think the majority of people are nice and although it is anoymous, many people will not tell you that they disagree, unless it is a topic that they feeling strongly about. For example on youtube, I never "thumbs down" a video that I dislike or disagree with, I simply click off of it. But I will thumbs up vids that I like.

About Me

Note: Links in Comments

I welcome all comments but please do not include links as 99% of the time I will reject the comment. I cannot usually tell the difference between a user and a seller recommending a product. This is an evidence based blog and it is my intent to keep it objective.

CONSTRUCTION ONGOING!!

Please bear with me, I am currently rewriting the code on this site so some OLD posts are messy but should be back to normal shortly.